D. R. Farine

Collective intelligence facilitates emergent resource partitioning through frequency dependent learning

The paper shows that collective intelligence in group-living animals leads to better resource partitioning than solitary animals through frequency-dependent learning.

The contribution of movement to social network structure and spreading dynamics under simple and complex transmission

This study uses simulations to show how movement and social rules affect network structure and the spread of behavior, with varying impacts depending on transmission rules and network dynamics.

Moving as a group imposes constraints on the energetic efficiency of movement.

This study examines how group movement affects energetic efficiency in vulturine guineafowl, finding that group members reduce transport costs but cannot match the efficiency of solitary individuals.

Habitat selection during dispersal reduces the energetic cost of transport when making large displacements

The paper shows that dispersing vulturine guineafowl select open habitats like roads to reduce transport energy costs during long-distance movement.

The physiological costs of leadership in collective movements

The study finds that leadership in collective movements incurs physiological costs, such as increased heart rate and reduced heart rate variability, particularly when leadership attempts fail.

Parrot politics: social decision-making in wild parrots relies on both individual recognition and intrinsic markers

This study investigates social decision-making in sulphur-crested cockatoos, finding they use both individual recognition and weight-based cues in aggressive interactions.

Breeding alters females' social positions by changing dominance dynamics

This study shows that breeding changes female vulturine guineafowl's social status by altering dominance dynamics with both males and non-breeding females.

Cooperative breeding in a plural breeder: the vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum)

This study shows vulturine guineafowl, a precocial bird species, exhibit cooperative breeding with male-biased care and plural breeding, challenging the altriciality-cooperative breeding hypothesis.

Characterising shared space use networks using animal trapping data

This paper introduces a method to model shared space use networks from sparse trapping data, showing it requires fewer observations and provides more accurate social network inferences than traditional co-trapping methods.

Beyond the dyad: higher-order structure within cohesive animal groups reveals the social pathway to leadership

This study uses high-resolution GPS data to analyze higher-order social structures in vulturine guineafowl, revealing sex-biased roles in group cohesion and leadership.

A guide to sampling design for GPS-based studies of animal societies

This paper provides quantitative recommendations for GPS sampling design in animal society studies, highlighting trade-offs between coverage, duration, and frequency to improve inference robustness.

Cooperative breeding and the emergence of multilevel societies in birds

The paper investigates the prevalence of multilevel societies in cooperatively breeding birds, finding structured social hierarchies in superb fairy-wrens.

Costs dictate strategic investment in dominance interactions

The paper shows that male vulturine guineafowl use higher-cost aggressive interactions strategically towards lower-ranked males in their hierarchy.

Social network architecture and the tempo of cumulative cultural evolution

This study simulates cultural trait innovation and diffusion in structured populations to show how social network architecture affects cumulative cultural evolution outcomes.

Social information use shapes the coevolution of sociality and virulence

The paper models how sociality and parasite virulence coevolve based on the interplay between social information transmission and infection risk.

Permutation tests for hypothesis testing with animal social data: problems and potential solutions

The paper introduces a 'double permutation' method to reduce type I and II errors in hypothesis testing with animal social network data by combining pre-network and node permutations.

The role of habitat configuration in shaping animal population processes: a framework to generate quantitative predictions

The paper introduces a framework to generate quantitative predictions about how habitat configuration influences animal population processes, using a model for simulating habitat networks.

Deep learning-based methods for individual recognition in small birds

This paper develops deep learning methods for individual bird recognition in both captive and wild settings, demonstrating their effectiveness with three bird species.

Development of new food-sharing relationships among nonkin vampire bats

The paper shows that unfamiliar vampire bats escalate low-cost grooming before forming high-cost food-sharing relationships, suggesting a 'raising-the-stakes' strategy in social bonding.

Information use in foraging flocks of songbirds - no evidence for social transmission of patch quality

This study investigates whether songbirds use social information about food patch profitability, finding no evidence for social transmission of patch quality.

Wild songbirds exhibit consistent individual differences in inter-specific social behaviour

The paper examines individual differences in heterospecific social behavior in wild songbirds and finds consistent variation in social strategies across species.

How to make methodological decisions when inferring social networks

The paper provides a framework for making methodological decisions in social network inference, emphasizing the use of a priori knowledge and pilot studies to improve network validity.

Stable multi-level social structure is maintained by habitat geometry in a wild bird population

The paper shows that habitat geometry maintains stable social structure in a wild bird population despite high generational turnover.

Movement and conformity interact to establish local behavioural traditions in animal populations

This study develops a model integrating movement and conformist social learning to show their combined impact on the spread of behavioural traditions in animal populations.

Do Sigmoidal Acquisition Curves Indicate Conformity?

This paper reviews models challenging the use of sigmoidal acquisition curves as evidence for conformist learning, concluding they remain valid under realistic assumptions.

A practical guide for inferring reliable dominance hierarchies and estimating their uncertainty

This paper evaluates methods for inferring dominance hierarchies, finds that Davids score and randomized Elo-rating perform best, and proposes tools to estimate hierarchy uncertainty.